


Footprints in the Snow

by silverspidertm2



Category: InuYasha - A Feudal Fairy Tale
Genre: Backstory, Family, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-28
Updated: 2017-09-28
Packaged: 2019-01-06 08:46:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,332
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12207822
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/silverspidertm2/pseuds/silverspidertm2
Summary: His father was dead, and only a worthless hanyo brother remained. The boy would grow strong and loved, but once the dust settled, the Lord of the Western Lands was the only one left truly alone. Feudal Association winner of Best Drama 2006.





	1. Part I

**Author's Note:**

> This story is mainly based on the opening scene from the third Inuyasha movie that described what took place on the day that he was born and written for the one person who was left truly alone after the dust settled. For those of you who haven't watched the movie, the focus of the story appears to be about seventeen or eighteen though of course I don't know how old he really was at this time. Repost from ff.net from back in 2006

His father was dead. He'd known his fate was sealed from the moment the Lord of the Western Lands chose to sacrifice the remainder of his already failing strength to protect his human lover and their unborn bastard of a child. He had stood on the edge of the ocean, glaring daggers at his father's back, speaking words of conquest and power, as if to distract himself from the inevitable truth: his father would not be coming back, and Sesshomaru hated him for it.   
  
It was a feeling he'd grown quite accustomed to over the last year or so. His father's strength was failing. The Lord Inutaisho had grown weak in his son's eyes, sparing his enemies, showing leniency in his rule of the human villages within his provinces. When he had taken that worthless mortal woman as his lover, Sesshomaru realized that his father would never regain the former glory and respect that had been associated with his name. It wasn't so much that he'd rutted with the female. Though he abhorred it, what his father did on his own time was none of the young demon's business. Others had been known to indulge in a few choice human women from time to time, but there were rumors whispered about the estate that the Lord had actually fallen in love with her, that once the child was born, he would bring them both to the palace, and she – this weak mortal – would be Lady of the Western Lands. She would hold the position that had once belonged to his dead mother. She would bring his great father to his knees, and that was the one thing Sesshomaru could not forgive.   
  
He hated his father. He hated this whore of a woman, but most of all he hated the babe that by now was almost fully grown in her womb. That hanyo... that abomination that should have never been conceived in the first place... His father considered it worth dying for, and Sesshomaru hated it for that, not because he thought his father would not have done the same for him, but because it was this half-breed's fault he would never see his father again. Inutaisho abandoned him.   
  
Despite the cool breeze of the ocean, Sesshomaru could feel his skin aflame and the blood in his veins began to boil, but not from anger. The time of his father's demise was nearly at hand, and the young demon felt every stroke of the opponents blade as if it fell upon himself. One more agonizing feeling of being consumed by fire, and then all was still. Inutaisho, the great dog demon, lay slain amidst the burning rubble. Sesshomaru was now Lord of the Western Lands, but he felt no satisfaction, only emptiness.   
  
The cold winds of the night had long ago subsided with the approach of the dawn, but Sesshomaru remained where he was, not moving an inch from the spot that his father had occupied hours earlier. He looked down at the sand that had accumulated a thick blanket of snow throughout the cold night and noticed that he had been standing directly in his father's footprints. They were still a little big, but soon he would grow into them. No, Sesshomaru thought with utter conviction. I shall surpass them.   
  
His hand tightened on the hilt of his sword. His father was the greatest man he'd ever known, yet this woman and half-breed only brought him this dishonorable demise. Yes, he would rule the Western Lands with an iron first, he would slay all who stood in his way, but first Sesshomaru would restore his father's name, even if it was only for the memory of him. None would ever think of the hanyo that now tainted his father's mighty bloodline.   
  
There was a scent of burning wood on the wind. From miles away, smoke rose from the burning village, but Sesshomaru knew that his prey was no longer there. The smell of singed wood was strong, but the scent of blood was even stronger and slowly moving west. A snarl tugged at the corner of his mouth. So the woman planned to flee deeper into his father's... no, his lands? She actually thought she'd be safe with that whelp. He took another long sniff of the air and realized that the scent had stopped moving. His golden eyes scanned the surroundings and finally came to rest on a small village in the distance.   
  
He had no trouble identifying the hut that held his targets. After all there was only one hanyo scent for many lee and this one happened to be very fresh. Sesshomaru had no trouble at all slipping through the shadows and past the few villagers who were still awake. His acute hearing picked up talk of a foreign princess who came in the middle of the night, bloodied and exhausted, clutching a tiny bundle to her breast that no one quite got a good look at.   
  
Only a few candles burnt throughout the house, and all the servants were fast asleep. The woman rested in a separate room, clearly exhausted but turning fitfully in her sleep. Sesshomaru thought he heard her call out to his father, and a low dangerous growl raised in the back of his throat. How dare she speak his name when she and that wretched child of hers were the cause of his demise? Sesshomaru's jaw was locked with determination, and his hand went for the hilt of his sword when his sensitive ears picked up a different sound. In the adjacent room, a child was crying.   
  
It was merely curiosity that drew him to the woven crib that hung from the ceiling. Inside lay a whimpering infant wrapped in red swaddling cloth, but as soon as Sesshomaru looked inside, the child's cries subsided. He opened his eyes, golden-yellow like his father's, staring up at the stranger in curiosity. He was clearly far too pale to be a human child, and if that or the pair of canine ears and snow-white mane didn't betray his demonic heritage, than the eyes were an unmistakable sign. Yes, this was the son of Lord Inutaisho. Unaware of the danger, the boy reached up with tiny hands that bore the faintest hints of claws, expecting to be picked up, but of course Sesshomaru did no such thing, merely staring back at the infant. Disappointed, the baby began to fuss again, kicking at the blankets.   
  
"Silence," Sesshomaru chastised him. "You'll wake your mother." But the infant was having none of it.   
  
Annoyed, the demon drew his sword, fully intending to put the half-breed out of his misery, but once again his hand was stayed. This was not a cry of hunger or discomfort. This was a cry of fear, and Sesshomaru knew that he was not the one the child was afraid of for the soul reason that the brat didn't know better. His keen senses scanned the room, and finally he saw them. Scavenger demons. Ugly misshapen creatures who were rarely a match for adult humans, let alone other demons. No doubt drawn to this place by the scent of blood. Usually they would feast of the carcasses of those slain in battle, but when the opportunity presented itself, they were not against the fresh meat of a helpless infant, especially one as potent as a hanyo.   
  
Sesshomaru's golden eyes narrowed into dangerous slits. This was his kill, and none other's. This worthless things dared to claim the life of one who had his father's blood flowing in his veins? They were sorely mistaken if they thought he would let them take the child.   
  
"You are not welcomed here," he told the mass of scavengers, pointing his sword at them. "Return from whence you came or suffer the consequences." The hideous demons chattered and hissed amongst themselves, unhappy that their prospective dinner was interrupted but knowing full well that they didn't stand a chance against the full-blooded demon. With a snarl in his direction, the creatures vanished.   
  
Satisfied, Sesshomaru returned to the crib where the child had stopped his cries, tear streaked cheeks now pulled back to reveal a toothless smile. He reached out again, hoping that his apparent savior might pick him up this time but was once again met with disappointment.   
  
"Don't be foolish," Sesshomaru told him. "I didn't do it for you. Imagine how Father would feel if he knew his son met his end at the hands of mere scavenger demons. Pathetic." He leaned closer to the crib. "Know this, little brother: when your end comes, it shall be at my hands and my hands alone. I suppose, if only for our Father, I owe you an honorable death."   
  
Against his better judgment, he reached into the crib and pulled the red cloth that the child had kicked off to tuck it around the baby, but before he could retrieve his hand, his little brother grabbed it. A frown creased Sesshomaru's brow when he realized that the child was trying to pull it into his mouth. He already managed to slobber all over his knuckles, and Sesshomaru growled in disgust. He only had to extend a single finger and his poisoned claws would end this hanyo's miserable existence, but somehow the idea of the child's death no longer seemed satisfying. At least not at the moment.   
  
"Listen well, little brother," Sesshomaru pulled back his hand, wiping it unceremoniously on the blanket. "You will grow strong and proud, and you will do nothing to bring shame to our father's name, or I will hunt you down myself, understand?" The baby didn't seem to pay attention, focused only on reaching for Sesshomaru's hand which had apparently become his new favorite toy. "But until you are of age such that you may defend yourself, no harm shall come to you. I'll see to that."   
  
The child no longer heard him. Having lost his toy, he wasn't willing to give Sesshomaru any more attention and promptly fell fast asleep once more, but amidst the sounds of nature from outside and those of the child's soft snoring, the demon lord could distinguish a pair of approaching footsteps from the other room. He growled; the human woman was awake. Slipping into the shadows, he watched her rush into the room, franticly searching for any sign of trouble. She approach the crib with caution so as not to wake the child. Satisfied that he was still asleep, her eyes drifted to a singed pile on the bamboo floor and widened in horror. Against his better judgment, Sesshomaru rose his voice.   
  
"They were no threat," he told the woman, remaining concealed by the shadows. "Your child is safe."   
  
The woman's head snapped up and if it was possible, her eyes grew even wider. "Inutaisho." she whispered, and Sesshomaru inwardly winced at the sound of his father's name.   
  
"No," he told her. "Your lover is dead, and I strongly suggest you put him out of your mind. Your concern now should only be the child."   
  
"Hai," the woman lowered her head in a bow of respect. "Whoever you are, thank you for my son's life."   
  
Sesshomaru only scoffed in response before turning to go, but he paused at the door. "What is the boy's name?" he inquired, more out of curiosity than anything else.   
  
"Inuyasha," she replied, gazing fondly at her slumbering son. "The only thing his father could give him before his death."   
  
"Inuyasha," Sesshomaru repeated to himself as it testing the taste of it in his mouth. "Strong name."   
  
Then he disappeared into the night, leaving behind nothing but footprints in the on the snow covered ground which were soon filled once more with a fresh blanket of white. His father had considered the child worth dying for. Perhaps Sesshomaru owed it a chance to live.


	2. Part II

Five years meant almost nothing to a demon, especially to Sesshomaru who found himself with more concerns than he had in the many centuries of his existence. After his father's death, the borders of the west came under dispute from the demon lords of the north and south. It seemed that everyone wanted a piece of Inutaisho's domain. Arguments over Sesshomaru's rule became more and more frequent, until the young demon lord put everyone's concerns to rest with one bark.   
  
Still things seemed to settle down, from a open threats of warfare to random outbreaks of disagreements which were quickly settled with minimal force. Seeking to escape the commotion, the demon lord found himself on a patrol of his lands, more to get away from the politics than out of any real concern. The string of forests and fields seemed to sooth him as he wandered in solitude, avoiding any interaction with the local human villages as much as possible. He did not fear them, of course. Moreover, Sesshomaru knew that his father was well liked by many of the villages under his rule, but he simply considered humans below his concern.   
  
It was on one such patrol, as he rested quietly on the edge of a forest that a familiar scent brushed past him. At first, Sesshomaru had trouble placing it. It had been five years, after all. But before long the image of an infant with silver hair and ridiculous canine ears floated to the surface of his mind. He growled. The damn hanyo brother of his. So the brat lived after all. With everything that he had to take care of, the child had fallen to the furthest depth of his mind, thoughts of him becoming nothing more than rare distraction at most, yet here he was, no more than a few yards away.   
  
As Sesshomaru climbed to his feet, the leaves of the bushes at the very edge of the forest rustled and seconds later, a snow-white head topped with a pair of dog ears popped out. Sesshomaru guessed that he was at most two feet tall but the guess could have been off as the boy was hunched over, nearly crawling on all fours, his nose low to the ground as if he was sniffing something out. Sesshomaru found it amusing that his little brother didn't bother to look up and use his eyes, relying solely on his sense of smell to find the oddity, that was most likely Sesshomaru himself. Of course, he thought with a measure of dry humor. Good dog.   
  
When he was less than a foot away, the boy finally looked up at him, and Sesshomaru saw that no matter how much he'd grown in the past five years, at least his eyes hadn't changed. Inuyasha sniffed again, as if to make sure that his was really the scent that caught his interest, then peered at the tall demon.   
  
"You smell funny," the boy declared with bold familiarity as if he'd known the person in front of him all his short life.   
  
"I could say the same of you," and in a flash, Inuyasha was hoisted into the air by the scarf of his red robe. Sesshomaru held him at eye level with one hand, studying his brother. Inuyasha struggled for a short while, quickly realizing that it was useless, but instead of getting scared, he shot his brother an angry glare.   
  
"Put me down!" he demanded and even went as far as to try and scratch at his brother with his growing claws, but Sesshomaru acted as if he hadn't heard him.   
  
"What have you been doing?" he scoffed indignantly, noting the child's grimy appearance and less than appealing smell. "Rolling in the dirt? Did you get lost in the woods?"   
  
"Did not!" Inuyasha objected.   
  
"Well, then what were you doing in there?" Sesshomaru prompted. "The village is on the other side."   
  
"I... I was looking for my ball, if you must know," the child stuck out his tongue indignantly. "It's white, and about... this big," he held his hands half a foot apart.   
  
"Indeed," Sesshomaru sounded like he didn't quite believe him. "You're quite ugly, you know." Another hand reached out to tug at Inuyasha's ears, but this time the boy batted him away with a degree of success, even managing to scratch Sesshomaru's hand in the process. The demon pulled, showing as much emotion as if he had been stung by a mosquito.   
  
"Yeah? You should talk. What happened to your face? Did you forget how to put on your makeup?"   
  
The corner of Sesshomaru's mouth twitched. "You're either very brave or very foolish to speak to a demon lord that way, pup. In your case, I'm afraid, it's the later."   
  
"Keh," where most people would have wet their trousers, the five-year-old didn't look remotely intimidated. "Bet my father could have taken you out in a heartbeat. He was a great demon lord, too."   
  
Sesshomaru's golden eyes widened slightly in surprise on their own accord. He hadn't expected Inuyasha to know anything about their father, though of course with the boy's looks, an explanation bust have been in order at some point. Still, the mention of his father from the mouth of the hanyo that Sesshomaru held partially responsible for his death, came as simply another reminder of what the boy really was: a mistake that should have never happened.   
  
"I'm sure he was," with a small thud, Inuyasha landed back on the ground. He quickly scrambled to his feet, almost ready to run back into the woods, but stopped when Sesshomaru lowered himself next to him. The demon did not regard the child for several moments, simply staring into the horizon before his voice rose again.   
  
"What did your mother tell you about him? About your father?" he asked without looking at the boy. It wasn't curiosity. Lord Sesshomaru of the Western Lands had no need to be curious about the life of a half-breed mongrel, but his father's image was not something he intended to entrust in the hands of the human female. Inuyasha stared at the ground, unsure when the conversation had taken such a serious turn. He wasn't even sure why he was speaking to a stranger – and such a powerful one at that – in such a familiar manner, but he seemed to smell okay, and Inuyasha's nose hadn't lead him astray so far.   
  
"She said he was really strong," the boy replied thoughtfully, avoiding looking at Sesshomaru. "That he could beat any opponent because of how big his heart was. She said that even after he died, he sent his spirit to watch over me."   
  
"Such a foolish thought," the demo scoffed even while he knew that it was no spirit but rather himself that protected Inuyasha after his birth. "She'd do better to let the dead rest."   
  
"Yeah sometimes I think so too," the boy hung his head, absently picking at the grass. "I think maybe if she didn't miss him so much, I wouldn't either." Silence fell between the two brothers once again. "Can I ask you a question?"   
  
"You may ask. I may not answer," Sesshomaru replied coolly.   
  
"Why do you smell so much like... like me?"   
  
"I don't smell like you," the demon lord actually wrinkled his sensitive nose. "At the moment, you reek."   
  
"But you do smell like someone I know," the boy insisted. "At least someone I smelled before."   
  
Sesshomaru wondered how that was possible. His previous interaction with the hanyo was brief and minimal at best, and he suspected that the same held true for their father, who must have only seen the child for mere seconds before he perished. Still somehow within that short time, the infant must have gotten a strong whiff of either their father's or most likely his own scent. The first few days of life were a crucial time for a pup when he formed connections with their parents and other immediate family members. While other senses were still developing, the sense of smell was first when it came to recognition of others. This was why Inuyasha never felt the need – and most likely never would – to give Inutaisho much thought, his father's scent lost to him to the smell of burnt wood.   
  
"I believe you confusion lies within a slight similarity. I, too, am a dog demon, like your father was." It wasn't a lie, just not the whole truth.   
  
"Guess that's it," still the boy didn't seem entirely convinced, hanging his head once again. "What's your name?"   
  
"That is irrelevant," Sesshomaru retorted. If he gave the boy his name, Inuyasha was likely to tell his mother all about the stranger he met, and Izayoi, assuming her memory didn't fail her completely, would know exactly who her son had crossed paths with. Sesshomaru had only met her once on the night of his father's death, but he knew that his father must have mentioned him to her at one time or another.   
  
"Oh, well what am I supposed to call you?"   
  
"Must you call me anything?" Sesshomaru raised a quizzical brow at the child. "Why are you still here?"   
  
"Because..."   
  
"Because you really did get lost and don't know your way back to the village," Sesshomaru finished for him, and rose to his feet with a sigh.   
  
"Where are you going?"the child stared up at him, slightly anxious.   
  
"Do you wish to return to your village?" Inuyasha nodded. "Then I suggest you follow me. The sooner I return you from whence you came, the sooner I can have my solitude back."   
  
He began walking without bothering to check if Inuyasha was following him or not, but soon the patter of bare feet began to follow him into the forest. Sesshomaru moved silently, somehow managing not to make any noise as his feet seemed to almost glide across the forest floor. The boy behind him looked absolutely fascinated with this ability. He started at the demon's feet, as if he could somehow draw out their secret with his eyes. Sesshomaru was little surprised when the boy's short attention span drew him away. Inuyasha disappeared behind a patch of bushes, and Sesshomaru released a low growl of annoyance. Humans... no, all children were bothersome creatures.   
  
"I do not intend to wait for you, boy," he told the moving mass behind the bush. "Follow or be left behind and pray someone comes looking for you. It doesn't matter to me."   
  
The bush shuffled again before Inuyasha popped out, ears first, holding up the little white ball. "I found it!" he declared triumphantly.   
  
"I can die happy," Sesshomaru muttered. "Let's go."   
  
After this, Inuyasha seemed to get the hint that the demon lord was not very talkative, but it didn't matter much since he was content in simply tossing his ball up and down as he followed Sesshomaru through the woods. They reached the other edge of the forest in less than an hour, and the sounds and smells of the human village that lay in the valley flew past their noses. Somewhere down there over the hill, someone was roasting a freshly caught stag.   
  
"You wanna stay for dinner?" Inuyasha raised his huge golden orbs to the demon lord.   
  
"I don't eat human food," he retorted courtly, turning on his heel.   
  
"Wait," he felt a small tug on his sleeve. "Am I going to see you again?"   
  
"Hopefully not for a very long time. Good-bye, Inuyasha."   
  
The child watched as the tall demon disappeared back into the forest, still slightly confused by the meeting. He briefly wondered if he'd ever told him his name. He couldn't remember doing so, but he must have since the stranger knew it. The smell of food was becoming more intense, and Inuyasha decided that he could worry about all that after dinner. Putting the events of the past hours behind him, the boy ran down towards the village.


	3. Part III

Rarely ever did he bother to follow the affairs of humans, even those who dwelled in his own domain. There were many villages scattered throughout the west, and usually they kept to themselves. Once in a while they bickered or even skirmished, but Sesshomaru never intervened in those cases. Their wars were none of his concern, but if other demons dared to threaten or challenge his rule, they were quickly disposed of. This self-imposed isolation from his subjects made him both well respected and the subject of much wonder and fear. Humans whispered but they didn't do it within his long hearing range, so Sesshomaru didn't care enough to correct any misconceptions of himself.  
  
However, one day on a cool autumn morning something reached his ears that forced him to stop on the edge of the forest and listen. There were several villages picking wild mushrooms and chattering amongst themselves. Sesshomaru remained concealed by the thick foliage but listened intently. He needed only three words to understand what had happened: princess, abomination, and death. Wordlessly, he turned to leave, his presence remaining completely unnoticed by the humans. They looked up when the sound of crushed dry leaves reached them, but dismissed it as nothing more than a wild animal and went back to work.   
  
It would not take him long to reach the village where the human woman and hanyo dwelled. Sesshomaru mentally counted the years since he had last seem the boy and was surprised to discover that little over half a decade had passed. It was no wonder that he hadn't given either of them a second thought, but now it appeared that they could no longer be ignored. Assuming, of course, that when the humans spoke of death, they meant the mother and not the child. Briefly he entertained the possibility that it was the hanyo who met his demise. If the child was gone, no one would dare soil his father's name by mentioning the ill-conceived brat in conjunction with the great dog demon. Inuyasha would become a distant memory, as if he had never been born, and he, Sesshomaru, would once again be the only heir to their father's legacy.   
  
But no matter how hard he tried, Sesshomaru could not wish him out of existence and even he had to recognize that the boy's death would not change the events that had already occurred. The undeniable fact was that Inutaisho had rutted with a human, that Inuyasha had been born, and that their father had lost his life defending his bastard child. No amount of denial could change that. Sesshomaru supposed that he should at least be grateful that the boy had absolutely no claim to the rule of the west. Aside from being a hanyo and illegitimate at that, Inuyasha was also second-born. Position was not an issue, but the boy could still do a fair amount of damage to the reputation of the family. Better if he really was dead.   
  
Still the thought did not sit well with him, not out of any sympathy for the hanyo, but because if the boy was dead, it meant that something had killed him. Half-breeds were fairly well resistant to any illnesses or minor physical injury, so if he was dead, it was at either the hands of some demon or angry villagers. A child just over a decade in age could hardly be expected to defend himself. Sesshomaru wasn't even sure how the hanyo had developed. Humans and demons measured time in two completely different scales, after all. Whatever the case, he had made a promise on the day of Inuyasha's birth and their father's death that no harm would come to the child until he has strong enough to fight back, and he, Sesshomaru, would be the only architect of his brother's demise. For anyone else to take the life of a son of the great demon dog Inutaisho would have been yet another disgrace to their father's memory.   
  
The sun had nearly set when he finally reached the edge of the village and saw that signs of the ongoing funeral were all around. This confirmed his suspicions that it was indeed the mother who perished. If it was Inuyasha, he doubted the humans would care. In the growing darkness, Sesshomaru could see the smoke and tongues of flame from the funeral pier at the shrine in the center of the village. Moving through the shadows, he slipped closer in time to hear a man who appeared to be the village's spiritual leader speaking of the deceased. When he mentioned something bout the fate of those who fraternize with demons, Sesshomaru decided it was a fitting time to make his presence known. Ignoring the gasps and whispers, he walked directly up to the man.   
  
"Where is the child?" he could have sensed Inuyasha without any trouble if it wasn't for the stench of burning flesh.   
  
"You are not welcome here, demon," the man tried to put up a strong front but fear was etched clearly in his eyes.   
  
"Nor do I wish to be here," Sesshomaru replied coolly, "but I ask you again: where is the boy? Speak, before you are thrown into the flames along with her."   
  
"He is forbidden from entering this sacred place," the monk insisted. "After all the grief he caused this poor woman. She died of a broken heart, and it is that monstrosity’s fault."   
  
"Ridiculous," Sesshomaru scoffed. "She died for the same reason that all humans die; because you are weak and mortal."   
  
In a flash, his hand was on the man's throat, poisoned claws dancing along the flesh. The man nearly screamed, thinking that the demon would fulfill his promise of burning him alive, but Sesshomaru simply tossed him aside and began to move away from the shrine, leaving behind a group of bewildered villagers.   
  
When he got far enough away, it wasn't hard to catch Inuyasha's scent emanating from the very edge of the other side of the village. In the dim light of the torches, he caught sight of a figure clad in red resting at the base of a tree several yards away from the last row of houses. The boy sat with his legs tucked close to his chest, idly poking at the ground with a stick he found. He froze, sniffed the air, and looked up at Sesshomaru, who was only a few feet away. Golden eyes filled with sadness flashed a look of confusion for a split second, but the demon lord saw no trace of tears in them.   
  
"I remember you," the hanyo frowned a bit, neither terribly surprised nor afraid of the demon's presence. In fact, Sesshomaru couldn't see or hear any emotion coming from the child at all.   
  
"You do not weep," he observed with a small measure of approval. A son of Inutaisho did not blubber like an infant.   
  
"The village elder said he'd beat me within an inch of my life if I so much as sniffed," Inuyasha looked at the ground. "Besides, it's not like it'd help. Won't bring her back."   
  
"No, it will not," the demon agreed. "Neither is the grief necessary. For humans, death is a part of life. It is neither good nor bad. It is simply the way of things."   
  
"Yeah, but I still miss her," the hanyo's golden eyes were cast longingly towards the shrine.   
  
Sesshomaru opened his mouth to tell him that it was pointless but then decided against it. He had to remind himself that Inuyasha was only a child, and in the human world, the loss of a parent was a cause for grief. Even he, Sesshomaru, grieved over his father's death, though it was more the manner in which he died rather than the accrual parting. They sat in silence for a few more moments, until the hanyo sighed, once again shifting his gaze towards the smoke spewing from the center of the village.   
  
"I can't stand it," the eleven-year-old muttered, and Sesshomaru had to wonder what exactly he meant. "The smell from the funeral pier. I can't stand it."   
  
"That is understandable," there was no sympathy in the demon's matter-of-fact tone. "Your senses are more acute than those of a mere human."   
  
"It's not that," Inuyasha shook his head, strands of his white mane sticking to his cheeks before he quickly flicked them away. "If it was, I'd put up with it. That's my mother they're sending to the spirit world. I don't know. For some reason that scent makes me feel sad... and afraid."   
  
"This is foolish," Sesshomaru said flatly. "It is only a ceremony. Your mother's spirit departed this world long before it began. There is no reason to believe that it is the fire that is taking her away from you."   
  
"I just…," he bit his lip for a moment, not quite sure how to explain what he was feeling. "Fire always made me think of death."   
  
Sesshomaru turned the thought over in his mind. At the time of Inuyasha's birth, his mother's palace was burning down around them. Their father was consumed by the flames, even after he defeated Takemaru, and even if Inuyasha couldn't explicitly remember the event, the scent of the smoke had forever become intertwined with tragedy in his mind.   
  
"What will you do now?" the demon asked not out of any real concern.   
  
Inuyasha shrugged. "Hadn't thought that far ahead," he admitted. "Probably go live in the forest or something. It's not like they'll let me stay here, even if I wanted to."   
  
"Don't be absurd," Sesshomaru sneered. "You wouldn't last a day on your own."   
  
"So? Better than hang around this place. Besides, I can take care of myself. I'm half-demon, you know," the boy declared proudly.   
  
One perfectly sculpted silver brow lifted over the demon lord's golden eye. "However confident you may feel about your abilities, the truth is that are only half-demon and still a child at that. Therefore I do not permit you to leave."   
  
For the first time in the evening, he saw anger flash across the hanyo's face. Inuyasha was instantly on his feet, momentarily forgetting his sorrow. He had grown since their last meeting, Sesshomaru noticed, but he was still very small, the tips of his canine ears not even reaching the demon's hip. His hands were balled into tight firsts at his sides, and the demon was amused that the hanyo actually tried to look menacing.   
  
"What do you care what happens to me, anyway?" Inuyasha demanded angrily.   
  
"I do not," Sesshomaru admitted, "but our father would have, and I will not let you taint his memory by getting killed by some second-rate demon."   
  
As soon as the words left his mouth, Sesshomaru knew he'd made a terrible mistake and from a glance at the wide-eyed Inuyasha, he saw that his hopes that the boy hadn't heard him were lost. The hanyo stared at the tall demon with a mixture of wonder and amazement, but Sesshomaru couldn't begin to guess what he was thinking. The two watched each other for one moment that was almost as long as the night of their father's death felt to Sesshomaru. Surprisingly it was Inuyasha who spoke first.   
  
"You're... you're Sesshomaru. You're my brother."   
  
A low growl rose in the back of the demon lord's throat. "Not by choice," he retorted, cursing himself for speaking without thought earlier.   
  
"But that means," Inuyasha's golden orbs lit up with hope, as if he hadn't heard his brother's reply, "you can take me away from this place! Is that why you're here? Am I gonna come and live with you now?"   
  
Sesshomaru, who tried never to be surprised by anything, was for once caught of guard. The thought of taking the boy into his own custody never once crossed his mind in over a decade. Not because Inuyasha's mother had been alive and able to care for him, but because he felt no responsibility towards his half-brother. That had not changed, even with the woman's death.   
  
"You are not to come with me," Sesshomaru replied. "You shall remain here in the village."   
  
"No!" instantly there was fear in the boy's voice. Inuyasha ran to his brother and grabbed at the white cloth of his pant leg. "Please! I won't bother you, I promise. Don't leave me here!"   
  
There were so many things he could have said; that there was no place for child amidst the violence that passed through his life, that he lacked the knowledge of how to take care of him, that Inuyasha needed to learn of society and he wouldn't be able to if he was following him around. Instead Sesshomaru chose the harsh truth.   
  
"You do not belong in my world."   
  
He instantly felt the small hands let go of him and watch as Inuyasha took a step back, a look of utter disbelief on his face. For the first time in the night, the hanyo's eyes welled up with tears, but Sesshomaru could tell it was from rage rather than sorrow. He looked down at the child and calmly waited for his fury to erupt.   
  
"Everyone always told me that!" the boy shouted. "Only my mother ever loved me! Only she took care of me! I am not going back there!"   
  
"You are," his brother replied unfazed. With a whirl, he turned his back to the hanyo, facing the village once more. "I will speak to them. They will not dare to lay a finger on you."   
  
With that he began back towards the human dwellings, leaving his brother behind, Sesshomaru could feel Inuyasha glaring daggers into his back but continued to ignore him. No, a hanyo didn't belong in the world of demons, and he knew full well that humans were no more accepting. Half-breeds had no place anywhere, further proof that none were meant to exist. Inuyasha would just have to learn that the hard way. Sesshomaru was not his savior. Yes, they were brothers, but they were also enemies.   
  
"I'll never forgive you for this, Sesshomaru! Never!" shouted the hanyo.   
  
Never, the demon lord mused. At least he understands that much.


End file.
